NuLink Worker Initialization and Running

If you install the Worker node via Docker, please initialize and run it using Docker as well. If you install the Worker node through a local installation, please refer to the local operation section.

You have to deposit a small amount of the testnet BNB (tBNB) into the worker account to facilitate the sending of a confirmation transaction.

Run Node via Docker (Recommended)

There are three steps to complete when starting a Worker node via Docker:

  1. Export Node Environment Variables

  2. Initialize Node Configuration

  3. Launch the Node

Export Node Environment Variables

To streamline the Docker installation procedure, we utilize certain environment variables. These variables are crucial for the operation of the NuLink Worker.

Select a password with at least 8 characters to lock and unlock the private storage created by the NuLink Worker. It's important to remember this password for future access.

export NULINK_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD=<YOUR NULINK STORAGE PASSWORD>

This password is used to unlock the keystore file of your Worker account. You would have established this password when creating the Worker account via Geth. Make sure you enter the same one!!!

export NULINK_OPERATOR_ETH_PASSWORD=<YOUR WORKER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>

Initialize Node Configuration

This step creates and stores the NuLink worker node configuration, and only needs to be run once.

$ docker run -it --rm \
-p 9151:9151 \
-v </path/to/host/machine/directory>:/code \
-v </path/to/host/machine/directory>:/home/circleci/.local/share/nulink \
-e NULINK_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD \
nulink/nulink nulink ursula init \
--signer <ETH KEYSTORE URI> \
--eth-provider <NULINK PROVIDER URI>  \
--network <NULINK NETWORK NAME> \
--payment-provider <PAYMENT PROVIDER URI> \
--payment-network <PAYMENT NETWORK NAME> \
--operator-address <WORKER ADDRESS> \
--max-gas-price <GWEI>

Replace the following values with your own value:

  • </path/to/host/machine/directory> - The host directory you create when install.

  • <ETH KEYSTORE URI> - The path to the keystore file of the Worker account.

  • <NULINK PROVIDER URI> - The URI of a local or hosted node where the Horus network launched.

  • <NULINK NETWORK NAME> - The name of the network where the Horus network launched.

  • <PAYMENT PROVIDER URI> - The URI of a local or hosted node where payment goes.

  • <PAYMENT NETWORK NAME> - The name of the payment network.

  • <OPERATOR ADDRESS> - The address of the Worker account. How to generate Worker account.

  • <GWEI> (Optional) - The maximum price of gas to spend on any transaction.

Example Input:

docker run -it --rm \
-p 9151:9151 \
-v /root/nulink:/code \
-v /root/nulink:/home/circleci/.local/share/nulink \
-e NULINK_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD \
nulink/nulink nulink ursula init \
--signer keystore:///code/UTC--2022-09-13T01-14-32.465358210Z--8b1819341bec211a45a2186c4d0030681ccce0ee \
--eth-provider https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545 \
--network horus \
--payment-provider https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545 \
--payment-network bsc_testnet \
--operator-address 0x8B1819341BEc211a45a2186C4D0030681cccE0Ee \
--max-gas-price 10000000000

Example Output:

# step 1
 Detected IPv4 address (8.219.186.125) - Is this the public-facing address of Ursula? [y/N]: y
 
 Please provide a password to lock Operator keys.
 Do not forget this password, and ideally store it using a password manager.
 
 # step 2
 Enter nulink keystore password (8 character minimum): xxxxxx
 Repeat for confirmation: xxxxxx
 
 Backup your seed words, you will not be able to view them again.
 
 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
 # step 3
 Have you backed up your seed phrase? [y/N]: y
 
 # step 4
 Confirm seed words: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
 
Public Key:   02bb2067d21a677ce928967c0ece79a9
Path to Keystore: /home/circleci/.local/share/nulink/keystore

- You can share your public key with anyone. Others need it to interact with you.
- Never share secret keys with anyone! 
- Backup your keystore! Character keys are required to interact with the protocol!
- Remember your password! Without the password, it's impossible to decrypt the key!


Generated configuration file at default filepath /home/circleci/.local/share/nulink/ursula.json

* Review configuration  -> nulink ursula config
* Start working         -> nulink ursula run

Launch the Node

Before performing this step, make sure that the environment variable has been set successfully. You can verify it using the following method, execute the following command:


root@xxx:~#echo $NULINK_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD
12345678
root@xxx:~#echo $NULINK_OPERATOR_ETH_PASSWORD
12345678

If the password is not displayed, please reset the environment variables.

export NULINK_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD=<YOUR NULINK STORAGE PASSWORD>
export NULINK_OPERATOR_ETH_PASSWORD=<YOUR WORKER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>

The following command will start the node. Make sure you use the same host directory as the configuration.

Remark1: You need to claim some BNB(test) token for Worker account as gas fee.

Remark2: If you encounter error when starting Worker node, first please check that the port 9151 has not been occupied by other process. If still not working, please check there is only one configuration json file in the </path/to/host/machine/directory>

$ docker run --restart on-failure -d \
--name ursula \
-p 9151:9151 \
-v </path/to/host/machine/directory>:/code \
-v </path/to/host/machine/directory>:/home/circleci/.local/share/nulink \
-e NULINK_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD \
-e NULINK_OPERATOR_ETH_PASSWORD \
nulink/nulink nulink ursula run --no-block-until-ready

Example Input：

docker run --restart on-failure -d \
--name ursula \
-p 9151:9151 \
-v /root/nulink:/code \
-v /root/nulink:/home/circleci/.local/share/nulink \
-e NULINK_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD \
-e NULINK_OPERATOR_ETH_PASSWORD \
nulink/nulink nulink ursula run --no-block-until-ready

Example Output:

aa3a0f6376b566473cbcde46b0e772feb4d3658188d2cbb424a1e94588d6d8eb

Check Node Status for Worker Account

The following command describes how to view worker status.

docker logs -f <docker name>

Example Input:

docker logs -f ursula

Example Output:

Authenticating Ursula
Loaded Ursula (horus)
✓ External IP matches configuration
Starting services
✓ Node Discovery (Horus)
✓ Work Tracking
✓ Start Operator Bonded Tracker
✓ Rest Server https://8.219.186.125:9151
Working ~ Keep Ursula Online!

Now the Worker address(e.g: 0x8B1819341BEc211a45a2186C4D0030681cccE0Ee) is ready for bonding operation.

Restart the Worker Node

Occasionally, the staker may find it necessary to restart the worker node. Below is the command for restarting the currently running nodes:

docker restart <container ID>

Run Node via Local Operation

There are two steps to complete starting a Worker node via local operation:

  1. Initialize Node Configuration

  2. Launch the Node

Initialize Node Configuration

This step creates and stores the worker node configuration, and only needs to be run once.

nulink ursula init      \
--signer <ETH KEYSTORE URI>           \
--network <NULINK NETWORK NAME>           \
--eth-provider <NULINK PROVIDER URI>      \
--payment-provider <PAYMENT PROVIDER URI>  \
--payment-network <PAYMENT NETWORK NAME>   \
--operator-address <OPERATOR ADDRESS> \
--max-gas-price <GWEI>

  • <ETH KEYSTORE URI> - The path to the keystore file of the Worker account..

  • <NULINK PROVIDER URI> - The URI of a local or hosted node where the Horus network launched.

  • <NULINK NETWORK NAME> - The name of the network where the Horus network launched.

  • <PAYMENT PROVIDER URI> - The URI of a local or hosted node where payment goes.

  • <PAYMENT NETWORK NAME> - The name of the payment network.

  • <OPERATOR ADDRESS> - The address of the Worker account. How to generate Worker account

  • <GWEI> (Optional) - The maximum price of gas to spend on any transaction.

Example Input:

nulink ursula init \
--signer keystore:///root/nulink/keystore \
--eth-provider https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545 \
--network horus \
--payment-provider https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545 \
--payment-network bsc_testnet \
--operator-address 0x8a20d379A4C08c482a617A81a39EB426B6EB8642 \
--max-gas-price 10000000000

Example Output:

# step 1
Detected IPv4 address (8.219.188.70) - Is this the public-facing address of Worker? [y/N]: y

Please provide a password to lock Operator keys.
Do not forget this password, and ideally store it using a password manager.

# step 2
Enter nulink keystore password (8 character minimum): xxxxxx
Repeat for confirmation: xxxxxx

Backup your seed words, you will not be able to view them again.

hammer fatal jazz era hurt shoulder stand story find move earn  much actor animal stamp know vital odor coin electric torch quick siege tonight

# step 3
Have you backed up your seed phrase? [y/N]: y

# step 4
Confirm seed words: hammer fatal jazz era hurt shoulder stand story find move earn  much actor animal stamp know vital odor coin electric torch quick siege tonight


Generated keystore


Public Key:   02dacea4c7f5563004af37f282ca10f7
Path to Keystore: /root/.local/share/nulink/keystore

- You can share your public key with anyone. Others need it to interact with you.
- Never share secret keys with anyone! 
- Backup your keystore! Character keys are required to interact with the protocol!
- Remember your password! Without the password, it's impossible to decrypt the key!


Generated configuration file at non-default filepath /root/.local/share/nulink/ursula-02dacea4.json
* NOTE: for a non-default configuration filepath use `--config-file "/root/.local/share/nulink/ursula-02dacea4.json"` with subsequent `ursula` CLI commands

* Review configuration  -> nulink ursula config
* Start working         -> nulink ursula run

Launch the Node

Run worker node using the initialized configuration.

screen -S nulink-worker // use this command if you want to run the worker node in a screen session

nulink ursula run --no-block-until-ready

Enter the above startup command and press enter to prompt for the passwords of ETH account and NuLink keystore, which are set in the initialization phase.

Note: operator account needs to have tokens on the corresponding chain

Example Input:

nulink ursula run --no-block-until-ready

Example Output:

Enter ethereum account password (0x7bD7B1266868B34dA4929501FfEA4ac737dA0E93):
Enter nulink keystore password:
Authenticating Ursula
Loaded Ursula (horus)
✓ External IP matches configuration
Starting services
✓ Node Discovery (Horus)
✓ Operator 0x7bD7B1266868B34dA4929501FfEA4ac737dA0E93 is funded with 0.499959405 ETH
✓ Operator 0x7bD7B1266868B34dA4929501FfEA4ac737dA0E93 is bonded to staking provider 0xf3D6ad89E34b1Cf8325EA614fa901eA4F34Be14a
✓ Operator already confirmed.  Not starting worktracker.
✓ Start Operator Bonded Tracker
✓ Rest Server https://8.219.188.70:9151
Working ~ Keep Ursula Online!

Now the Worker address(e.g: 0x7bD7B1266868B34dA4929501FfEA4ac737dA0E93) is ready for bonding operation.

Restart the Worker Node

Occasionally, the staker may find it necessary to restart the worker node. Below is the command for restarting the currently running nodes:

screen -x nulink-worker // use this command if you run the worker node in a screen session

press ctrl+c

nulink ursula run --rest-port 9151 --no-block-until-ready
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